SET listed firms see Q1 sales and profits hit record high

26 May 20113,771 viewsNo Comment

Listed companies on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) reports record-high total sales of 2.12 trillion baht and profits of 205.29 billion baht for the first quarter of this year, up 18.22 percent and 29.74 percent respectively from the same period last year.

According to SET president Charamporn Jotikasthira, a total of 460 companies out of 506 SET-listed firms, including 32 property funds, had already submitted their operating results for the first quarter of this year and their total sales and profits surged to the highest since the establishment of SET, originally in 1962.

Charamporn on Monday said the surge in both the total sales and profits reflected the stable economic fundamentals, listed companies’ capability to generate profits amid higher operating costs, and a readiness to expand in the future.

The growth has been outstanding in SET50 stocks, particularly those in the energy and utilities sector, as their total sales and profits have continued to rise since the second quarter of last year while the listed companies in SET 100 during the first quarter of this year enjoyed an increase of 35.27 percent from the same period last year in net profits to 182.72 billion baht, representing 89.01 percent of the total profits earned by all listed firms.
During the first quarter of this year, he said, the sales of SET 100 companies rose 19.61 percent or 297.76 billion baht while the gains from foreign exchange fell 84.92 percent, the interest burden went up 15.96 percent and the cost of sales increased 18.87percent, resulting in a slight increase in their gross profit margin from 19.70 percent last year to 20.19 percent.

The top five companies with the highest net profits are PTT Plc, Siam Commercial Bank Plc (SCB), Indorama Venture Plc (IVL), PTT Exploration and Production Plc (PTTEP), and Siam Cement Plc (SCC) while the top five industries with the highest net profits are the resources, financial business, raw materials for industrial products, property and construction, and technology sectors.

The groups with the highest profit growth rate were industrials, resources and financials while the energy and utilities, the petrochemicals and chemicals, and the banking sectors were the top three with the highest sales and net profit, with combined sales of 58 percent of total sales and combined net profits of 67 percent of total net profits.